Interstellar Empress

Chapter 1

On the eleventh day after the death of Duke Chu, his coffin was sent into the vast Milky Way. At five o'clock in the morning, the first funeral cannon sounded in the capital star.

Chu Yao had just fallen asleep at three o'clock and was awakened by a deafening noise. He thought he was still lying on his bed and reached out to grab it, but instead fell off his chair with a thud.

He sat there covered in cold sweat for a long time without moving, even when hit by falling books.

The old servant who was sleeping outside heard the commotion and rushed into the study without even putting on his shoes. He saw Duke Chu sitting on the ground and almost fainted from shock.

He hurried over to help him up, but Duke Chu pushed away his hand and looked up with an empty gaze muttering: "How could I forget..."

"What?" The old servant asked anxiously.

"How could I forget about this." Duke Chu replied absentmindedly while flipping through a book that had been pressed against his leg.

The old servant listened to him rambling nonsense and became more worried: "Sir, please wait here. I'll go call for a doctor."

"A doctor? I'm not dead yet! Why do you need to call for a doctor?" Duke Chu slowly regained consciousness as he brushed aside the book that had been weighing down on his leg. "Has my son woken up?"

The old servant knew everything about each member of their family's daily routine like clockwork so although he didn't understand why Duke Chu suddenly asked this question, he respectfully answered: "Young Master has been sitting in this study all night long before finally going to sleep recently."

"Go get him." Despite being elderly himself, Duke Chu stood up straight without any assistance from anyone else. "Tell him that I am waiting for him here."

"Yes sir."

Duke Chu was a nobleman and of the same generation as the current emperor. He had survived the ceremony to become heir when he was young, and later achieved great military success. As he grew older, his personality became more domineering.

Although he had calmed down quite a bit in his old age, he still refused to accept aging and couldn't stand seeing other elderly people who spent their days cooped up indoors without moving around. Therefore, except for during extreme summer or winter weather conditions, the temperature control system in his mansion was always turned off.

He stood barefoot on the cold floor tiles which helped clear his mind even further. No one expected that after spending an entire generation "nurturing" an heir apparent, they would die inside a woman's womb instead. Once this news was confirmed, all nobles within the alliance were either ecstatic or terrified.

The former were families with talented younger generations who could participate in ceremonies like these; even if they didn't win in the end, they could absorb enough "nutrients" to greatly increase their source power levels and elevate their entire family status by one level.

The latter were families whose younger generations weren't as capable as others; even if they managed to survive such ceremonies by chance alone, most of their own source power would have been transformed into waste energy used to nourish others instead.

If it had happened twenty or thirty years ago Duke Chu would have woken up laughing from such dreams but now at home everyone including himself felt helpless amidst life-and-death separation scenarios where there seemed no way out.

If someone escaped from becoming heir through these ceremonies then not only themselves but also their whole family would be charged with treason against country laws.

Originally Duke Chu thought that this lifetime was destined for him to bury his grandson but unexpectedly...

"Father?" Chu Xun has already lived half of his life yet still maintained respect towards father figure since youth. He picked up his shoes from the ground and walked over to him, squatting down in front of Duke Chu. "Uncle De said you were looking for me."

"Forget about your shoes first." Duke Chu pulled his son up from the ground. "The heir apparent has died, so it's likely that the ceremony will be scheduled soon. You know Ning'er's situation; what do you think we should do?"

Upon hearing this, Chu Xun seemed to have aged several years in an instant as he trembled: "What else can we do? As long as there is a child between twenty and forty years old within each noble family, one must be sent to participate in the ceremony until a new heir apparent emerges through battle. But with Ning'er's current condition..."

"Not necessarily." Duke Chu sighed and sat down on the sofa before tapping his fingers on the table surface. "Do you remember that you have a younger brother?"

When the Duke of Chu was young, he wasn't exactly a ladies' man, but after winning several battles, he went through a wild phase. Decades ago, he had an affair with the owner of a border bar for a few years. After she gave birth to their son and died shortly thereafter, she sent the illegitimate child to the capital city where the Duke raised him outside his household by providing regular financial support. Even his legitimate eldest son Chu Xun only met his half-brother occasionally when socializing as adults. In fact, they hardly spoke despite being blood-related. Later on, the illegitimate child also died outside.

The Duke of Chu always knew what mattered most and raising an illegitimate child was no different from keeping a pet; as long as it didn't starve to death, he didn't care about anything else. This led Chu Xun to rack his brain before remembering that there was such an unrelated younger brother: "I remember."

"When your brother died," said the Duke of Chu who had sent someone out at that time just to retrieve his body since it was still technically part of their family line even if not officially recognized by society at large, "I dispatched people to investigate." Of course this wasn't important.

"The informant reported that your brother had married before dying and left behind a daughter who should be around twenty now." Although this news seemed hopeful at first glance for having discovered another relative in their lineage tree so late in life but without any prior knowledge or record-keeping system available within their community regarding those born with special abilities known as source power (SP), which is essential for anyone seeking recognition or status among them due its rarity and importance.

"Record-keeping?" The Duke sneered disdainfully at this suggestion since neither himself nor any member of their family ever appeared on such lists despite being one of SP users themselves: "Your brother never showed up on that thing until he died."

Chu Xun looked up in disbelief: "Father-"

"The Crown Prince has just passed away, and it will take some time to gather the younger generation from all over. Plus, there are various procedures that need to be followed before the funeral can take place. It won't happen for at least six months." The Duke of Chu lay down on his sofa and slowly closed his eyes: "How could our family's bloodline be allowed to wander outside? You must find my granddaughter."